On a sunny afternoon in May, I sat in the parking lot of Midwestern Alternative (pseudonym), a high school for “at-risk” students where I was interviewing for an English teaching job. Watching the high schoolers spill out into the parking lot to leave for lunch, I felt intimidated by their stereotypically edgy, alternative dress, style, … Continue reading Owning Their Stories: Teaching Memoir at an Alternative High School by Amy Vizenor
Educating with Little Tree: Reshaping The Education of Little Tree’s Cultural and Pedagogical Value in English Classrooms by Chris Drew
At a recent conference session on literary diversity in classrooms, I and other attendees were encouraged to pass around a selection of books, examine them, and discuss their possible classroom use. A school librarian next to me picked up a copy of Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and we began … Continue reading Educating with Little Tree: Reshaping The Education of Little Tree’s Cultural and Pedagogical Value in English Classrooms by Chris Drew
Minding the Body: Towards a Pedagogy of Enactment by Catherine Fox
Although unable to theorize it at the time, I dropped out of college when I was nineteen because the disconnect had become intolerable. To be a disembodied mind, taking in the “knowledge” of the professor and regurgitating it in the form of papers and exams, was severing me from the interconnectivity that, I now believe, … Continue reading Minding the Body: Towards a Pedagogy of Enactment by Catherine Fox
#StayWoke: Empowering Students to Respond to Fake News by Mariah Morin & Heather Hurst
As my (Mariah's) own social media feeds were flooded with fake news and articles about fake news, my thoughts turned to students who must also be grappling with the tricky questions of reliability and veracity in this digital landscape. In English classes, we often ask students to be critical consumers of texts and media. The … Continue reading #StayWoke: Empowering Students to Respond to Fake News by Mariah Morin & Heather Hurst
Centering LGBTQ People of Color with Young Adult Literature in Secondary ELA by Cody Miller & Kathleen Colantonio-Yurko
As English language arts teachers, we believe young adult literature offers an avenue for voices and experiences that are largely ignored by canonical texts. LGBTQ voices are among those omitted from many English language arts textbooks. In the past, we relied heavily on young adult literature to provide our students LGBTQ texts. However, the mostly … Continue reading Centering LGBTQ People of Color with Young Adult Literature in Secondary ELA by Cody Miller & Kathleen Colantonio-Yurko
Centering Students’ Voices in a Public Speaking Genre Study by Burke Scarbrough
Today’s students have access to stirring, powerful text in an ever widening array of forms. As we invite our students to discover the power of the carefully crafted written word, many of those students are even more strongly inclined to celebrate the power of language in oral performance. I’m referring to the genres and media … Continue reading Centering Students’ Voices in a Public Speaking Genre Study by Burke Scarbrough
Addressing Racial Injustice Through Allyship: Teaching to See by Using Poetry by Sharon Rudnicki
(Note: The editors have chosen to partially redact a form of the n-word that appears when quoting Kendrick Lamar's lyrics.) Introduction In 2016, America was treated to two excellent television series that focus on the life of O.J. Simpson, FX’s American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson and ESPN’s O.J.: Made in … Continue reading Addressing Racial Injustice Through Allyship: Teaching to See by Using Poetry by Sharon Rudnicki
Closing the Door on Standardized Test Preparation and Opening the Door to Next Generation Literacy by Vicky Giouroukakis & Maureen Connolly
Introduction “I want to facilitate learning that helps students be the best versions of themselves.” “I teach to inspire a new generation of book lovers!” “I teach to change lives!” “I teach to show students how BRILLIANT they can be!” These are the words of four … Continue reading Closing the Door on Standardized Test Preparation and Opening the Door to Next Generation Literacy by Vicky Giouroukakis & Maureen Connolly
Writing is Elemen‘tree’: A Visual, Auditory, and Tactile Framework for Navigating the Writing Process by Lyndi Maxwell
Abstract This article describes how teachers can use manipulatives, visual aids, and poetry to help students navigate a process-approach writer’s workshop. The workshop is presented as being analogous to how a squirrel navigates an oak tree, as the squirrel represents the writer, each part of the oak tree represents a stage of the writing process, … Continue reading Writing is Elemen‘tree’: A Visual, Auditory, and Tactile Framework for Navigating the Writing Process by Lyndi Maxwell
Dogmatism and Teaching Writing by Alexandra Glynn
The great writing textbooks seldom prompt aspiring writers to be certain. The ancients assumed that they would already be, so there was no need to discuss it. The moderns deride certainty. But how many times have writing teachers had to correct an “I think that the political atmosphere is…” by deleting the “I think”? And … Continue reading Dogmatism and Teaching Writing by Alexandra Glynn
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